Emma Stone will be ready when the zombies come

I was kind of talking myself out of believing that the dead will really rise against us one day, but then I spoke to someone on The Walking Dead about how they plan to unravel how the zombie plague started and damn if it didn’t sound totally plausible. The hole in World War Z is how/why the zombie plague starts (it’s a virus but no one ever teases out exactly where it came from), but it sounds like Frank Darabont and Robert Kirkman have worked out something much more detailed than “oh yeah it came from China”. And now I’m back to being 67% sure that one day we’re going to have to survive the zombies.

You know who will be ready when that day comes? Emma Stone. She’s been offered the part of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies which makes perfect sense. This isn’t your traditional Lizzie Bennet, so a willowy Brit isn’t exactly necessary for the role. It was originally being developed for Natalie Portman, but after seeing her in Your Highness, I’m relieved she decided to jump off the project—though she remains a producer—and let someone who can actually deliver a funny line take it on. And Stone has the added benefit of already having “gone zombie” in Zombieland, so I don’t worry about her ability to handle the ninja assassin stuff.

I really, really like Emma Stone. She’s the total package, capable of being funny and serious, and a good enough actress that I believe she’ll be able to handle the English accent and the period-costume look. And now that she’s been offered Lizzie, who should be her Darcy? My pick is Benedict Cumberbatch. PPZ’s Darcy has all the usual haughtiness we know and love, but also the added ability to slay zombie hordes and I think Cumberbatch (that NAME) can deliver on both fronts. The next most-important character is Lady Catherine de Burgh, Darcy’s horrid aunt. The obvious pick is Maggie Smith, my less-obvious choice would be Imelda Staunton, but PPZ isn’t your mom’s Pride & Prejudice. For Lady Catherine, the greatest zombie-slayer in England, I’d go for Cate Blanchett. I mean, you can see it right? And just imagine…The Incomparable Cate and Emma Stone…